Written Testimony House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

HB 2384 – Judicial Compensation Written Testimony House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee March 18, 2019 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council David Slayton OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION Administrative Director 1

Current Judicial Salaries in Texas (since 2013) County Paid Judges County Court at Law Judges - $1,000 less than DJ State reimburses 60% of DJ salary Statutory Probate Court Judges – Equal to DJ State reimburses $40,000 Constitutional County Judges receive 18% of DJ pay if 40% of County Supplements duties are judicial % of Judges Receiving Average Total Average No Maximum Salaries Supplement Supplement Compensation Courts of Appeals Justice 100% $8,963 $162,915 District Judge 98.5% $16,120 $156,036 OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 2

Judicial Retirement Benefits • Almost all active judges are in Judicial Retirement System 2 (after 9/1/85) • Eligible after 10 years if 65 or older (currently in office) • Reduced benefit at age 60 • Eligible after 12 years if 65 or older (not currently in office) • Reduced benefit at age 60 • Eligible after 20 years at any age • Eligible after 12 years on appellate court at Rule of 70 • Retirement is 50% of state judicial salary at retirement • Increased by 10% if still in office at retirement or if a visiting judge • Can increase by 2.3% per year if a member contributes after 20 years of service – maximum is 90% • Judges currently contribute 7.5% toward retirement system • JRS 1 (in office before 9/1/85) retirees receive automatic increases in retirement with judicial salary increase OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 3

Statutorily Linked Salaries / Benefits • Statutory County Court Judge Salary & Supplements (county/state paid) • Statutory Probate Court Judge Salary (county paid) • Constitutional County Court Judge Supplements (state paid) • Per Diem for Visiting Trial & Appellate Court Judges/Justices (state paid) • District Attorney & Criminal District Attorney Salaries (state paid – county can supplement without a maximum) • County Attorney Supplements (state paid – no maximum) • Elected Class Retirement (state paid) OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 4

Judicial Salaries in Other States Average Salary of Texas State Percent Court 5 Most Populous Salary Difference States Justice/Judge – Supreme Court $168,000 $227,040 -35.1% and Court of Criminal Appeals Justice – Court of Appeals $154,000 $204,800 -33.0% District Judge $140,000 -35.7% $190,000 Percentage Change in State Federal Judge Salaries Salaries from 2013 to 2018 California 13% District Judges $208,000 The state salary of Texas Pennsylvania 4% judges is at least 33 percent Appeals Court $220,600 lower than the average Illinois 12% Judges salary of their counterparts New York 31% Supreme Court $255,300 in the five states closest to Justices Florida 33% Texas in population. Chief Justice $267,000 Texas 0% OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 5

State Salary Outpaced by Inflation $170,000 State Salary of District Judges $164,935 $160,756 $160,000 $157,295 $153,759 $150,000 $150,302 $146,922 FY 18 $143,339 12.0% $140,000 $140,528 $130,000 22.9% $120,000 $110,000 3.7% 15.1% % increase in $100,000 Actual Salary $90,000 3.0% 7.4% 1.0% Salary Needed to Keep Pace with Inflation as $80,000 Measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) $70,000 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Fiscal Year OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 6

Compensation Lags Attorney Salaries, Even with Significant Experience 2017 Experienced Private Practitioner Annual Wages Average Annual Statewide Houston Dallas Wages Lawyers $184,156 $222,922 $185,640 Average Year Judges Licensed Supreme Court 1986 Court of Criminal Appeals 1987 Court of Appeals 1987 District Courts 1990 OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 7

Judicial Turnover Percentage of Voluntary Turnover in State Judges and State Employees 11.1 10.8 10.7 10.6 10.5 10.5 10.3 10.0 10.0 10.0 9.6 9.0 8.8 8.8 State Employees 8.0 7.2 6.5 5.3 5.3 5 State Judges 3.1 3.6 2.3 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Fiscal Year OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 8

Age of Judges on Courts is Increasing 71% of High Judges age 55 or Court older Judges 68% of Judges over 65 Courts of fastest growing Appeals Justices 60% of District Judges OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 9

Key Provisions of CSHB 2384 • Sets new tiered pay structure that rewards retention of all judges (appellate, district, CCAL, SPC) • Base pay of judges maintained at current level, but able to be adjusted in budget • 4 years of service as judge = 110% of base pay • 8 years of service as judge = 120% of base pay • 12 years of service as judge = 130% of base pay • Differentials between base pay at levels of courts maintained • Max salary added for CCAL/SPC judges - $1k less than DJ max salary • Salaries for child protection court and child support court judges set at 90% of DJ pay • Links Regional Presiding Judge salaries to DJ pay • Maintains reimbursement of counties at 60%, but of increased salaries OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 10

Judge CSHB 2384 Salary Additional County Comp Total Comp CCAL Judge/SPC Judge* *SPC judges +$1,000 Max $204,642 Base Salary (0-4 years) $139,000 County Optional $139,000+ 4-8 years $153,000 County Optional $153,000+ 8-12 years $167,000 County Optional $167,000+ 12+ year $181,000 County Optional $181,000+ District Judge Max Salary Base Salary (0-4 years) $140,000 Up to $18,000 $158,000 4-8 years $154,000 Up to $18,000 $172,000 8-12 years $168,000 Up to $18,000 $186,000 12+ year $182,000 Up to $18,000 $200,000 COA Justice Max Salary Base Salary (0-4 years) $154,000 Up to $9,000 $163,000 4-8 years $169,400 Up to $9,000 $178,400 8-12 years $184,800 Up to $9,000 $193,800 12+ year $200,200 Up to $9,000 $209,200 SC Justice/CCA Judge Max Salary Base Salary (0-4 years) $168,000 N/A $168,000 4-8 years $184,800 N/A $184,800 8-12 years $201,600 N/A $201,600 OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 11 12+ year $218,400 N/A $218,400

Key Provisions of CSHB 2384 (cont) • Provides supplement for all constitutional county judges • Increases judge contribution to retirement by 2% to 9.5% - consistent with state employees • Keeps retirement benefit calculation based on pay of judge at time of retirement • Maintains connection between elected DA/CA salary & benefits, applying tiers to them • Maintains non-judicial linked salaries and benefits at current levels by linking to the base salary • Daily rate for visiting judges and justices • Elected Class Retirement • Moves judge medical retirement determination from Chief Justice of Supreme Court to ERS OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 12

Questions? OFFICE of COURT ADMINISTRATION 13